Issue Information

Cover legend: In this issue, two review articles (pp. 1901–1920, pp. 1921–1936)) highlight contributions of the international plant science community to fight against human infectious diseases. Article(pp. 1952–1966) report regulatory issues related to plant based oral drug delivery for treatment of hemophilia. The cover illustration (pp. 2113–2125) shows expression of dextranase, mutanase and lipase enzymes in marker‐free lettuce plant chloroplasts and preparation of the chewing gum using freeze‐dried plant leaves (top panel). The plant‐derived enzymes show potent antibiofilm efficacy, disrupting cross‐kingdom oral biofilm formation by bacterial and fungal pathogens (bottom panel). Dental caries is one of the most neglected infectious diseases that afflict 2.3 billion people globally, caused by pathogenic organisms that erodes tooth mineral, leading to cavitation and complicaions of oral and systemic health. Dental plaque disruption using topical delivery of plant made enzymes offers an effective and affordable oral health care at home, particularly for populations with minimal oral care access.